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Miss Thompson, who has worked for the Department of Work and Pensions for 26 years, said there seemed to be renewed confidence amongst the city’s employers as the economy starts to show signs of growth.

She said: “If we look at the figures over the last 12 months, the trend is that job seekers are finding work.

“In that area, we have gone from 6,000 to 4,000 people looking for employment. That is 2,000 people who have gone into work. Those unemployment figures are below the national average.

“Anecdotal feedback from employers is that there are more vacancies and the economy is more buoyant.

“Employers are finding that they are in a position to offer the vacancies once again. It’s all having a knock on effect.”

Miss Thompson pointed to the go-ahead for a Tesco in Tavistock, promising 100 jobs, as a marker of the positive turn the South West’s economy. has taken.

The latest figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that those claiming Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) was down nationally.

It fell by 36,000 to 1.27million, the lowest it has been since January 2009, just after the global financial crash.

The ONS stated in September that 4,970 people of working age were claiming jobless benefits in Plymouth. That represented a drop of 155 on the previous month and means 2.9 per cent of the population are on the dole, a favourable comparison to the national rate of 4.2 per cent.

Miss Thompson said January will continue to be a good month for those looking to get into work or find new career opportunities.

The Job Centre Plus will be putting on an employment fair in two weeks for those in the healthcare sector. It will be held at the Guildhall on Wednesday January 22.

Miss Thompson added: “We have in the region of about 30 employers coming along with their vacancies.

“It will be a specialised event for those in social, adult and child care, and anything else related to that sector.

“We do it annually but we definitely have far more employers interested in it this year. That shows the buoyancy.”

There will be a special jobs fair for those in the hospitality sector in April at the Holiday Inn. A date is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.